light breathing. Still his fingers worked through the hair next to my face. Just as I felt myself begin to fall, his whisper broke through.
“Rule three—broken.”
Chapter 5
Blake
Getting from the airport to the hospital was an absolute fucking circus, even in the back of an ambulance. Media was out in droves, thanks to my former partner. Three women rescued, one being famous, did not make for an easy transition. I stood in the waiting room for three hours before the doctor showed up saying Kaitlyn was placed in a room and I was free to go in.
As I watched her sleep, hooked up to wires and an IV, I couldn’t shake the sight. She may have been cleaned up and showered again at her request, but the whole setting put me on edge. The doctor said she was okay, minus the infection. She was malnourished. Dehydrated. They were pumping fluids and antibiotics into her and she was already doing a lot better. Still, I couldn’t stand to see her this way. What I missed was the tough woman who had killed her owner. Who tramped through almost three miles of snow in thin boots that made her feet bleed just to escape. The one who stood up to me when she ripped the towel out of my hand. Fuck, I’d wanted to bend her over my knee for that little outburst. I bet her ass would glow beautifully. The image had my cock hardening, painfully.
Distance. I needed some of that. For hours before we arrived , I watched her while she slept. Even when the fever returned and I woke her up long enough to give her more pills, my arms pulled her into me and I held her while she shook from feeling cold. The nails that sunk into my chest while she tried to bring me impossibly closer made my beast become even more attached. Pain wasn’t something I experienced often and that side of me wanted more from her. An equal dish of giving and receiving. Yes. My warped fantasies were getting out of control. The sooner she was gone, the better.
“What’s rule three?” Kaitlyn’s groggy voice had me looking up. Shit. She’d heard that? “You’re awake. How do you feel?”
The bed groaned as she pushed the button to come to a sitting position. “Rule three?”
“Not a clue what you’re talking about. You hungry? I can see about getting you some food. You’re probably starving.”
Her hand came to rest on her stomach. The sight of the IV needle taped to the back of her slender hand had my lips pushing into each other. The doctor said she’d be good to go by morning if everything came back normal. I couldn’t wait. Then, she’d be stronger and I wouldn’t have to see her like this anymore.
“Since you’re not going to answer, I guess food will have to do.”
“Good. Just tell me what you want.”
A moan came from her mouth. “A big, greasy hamburger, some fries, and a big ass soda.”
I laughed. “Easy enough to get. Give me a few minutes. I’m going to go pass it by the doctor. There’s a really good place down the road. It’ll do the trick.” Not only for her, but for both of us. I hadn’t eaten in close to thirty hours. Sure, I could have grabbed a snack on the plane, but that would have meant I had to leave Kaitlyn. Even now, I didn’t want to.
Distance. Right. I stood and she reached for me. Such a small gesture, but it didn’t go unnoticed by what I harbored. The possessiveness I felt clutched to her need for me like a druggy desperate for a fix.
My hand lifted as I stepped within her reach. The connection of our fingers laced in each other’s was right, on too many levels.
“Thank you. For everything. I’ll never forget this.” Her lips kissed the back of my hand, leaving my mind momentarily blank. So much gratitude. Sure, I’d gotten thank-you’s, smothered in tears. Even kissed on the cheek once by the mother of one of my girls. But in Kaitlyn’s eyes, there was something different. Almost intimate. A yearning tugged at some part of me that I couldn’t understand. Behind all that, there seemed to be an
“Rule three—broken.”
Chapter 5
Blake
Getting from the airport to the hospital was an absolute fucking circus, even in the back of an ambulance. Media was out in droves, thanks to my former partner. Three women rescued, one being famous, did not make for an easy transition. I stood in the waiting room for three hours before the doctor showed up saying Kaitlyn was placed in a room and I was free to go in.
As I watched her sleep, hooked up to wires and an IV, I couldn’t shake the sight. She may have been cleaned up and showered again at her request, but the whole setting put me on edge. The doctor said she was okay, minus the infection. She was malnourished. Dehydrated. They were pumping fluids and antibiotics into her and she was already doing a lot better. Still, I couldn’t stand to see her this way. What I missed was the tough woman who had killed her owner. Who tramped through almost three miles of snow in thin boots that made her feet bleed just to escape. The one who stood up to me when she ripped the towel out of my hand. Fuck, I’d wanted to bend her over my knee for that little outburst. I bet her ass would glow beautifully. The image had my cock hardening, painfully.
Distance. I needed some of that. For hours before we arrived , I watched her while she slept. Even when the fever returned and I woke her up long enough to give her more pills, my arms pulled her into me and I held her while she shook from feeling cold. The nails that sunk into my chest while she tried to bring me impossibly closer made my beast become even more attached. Pain wasn’t something I experienced often and that side of me wanted more from her. An equal dish of giving and receiving. Yes. My warped fantasies were getting out of control. The sooner she was gone, the better.
“What’s rule three?” Kaitlyn’s groggy voice had me looking up. Shit. She’d heard that? “You’re awake. How do you feel?”
The bed groaned as she pushed the button to come to a sitting position. “Rule three?”
“Not a clue what you’re talking about. You hungry? I can see about getting you some food. You’re probably starving.”
Her hand came to rest on her stomach. The sight of the IV needle taped to the back of her slender hand had my lips pushing into each other. The doctor said she’d be good to go by morning if everything came back normal. I couldn’t wait. Then, she’d be stronger and I wouldn’t have to see her like this anymore.
“Since you’re not going to answer, I guess food will have to do.”
“Good. Just tell me what you want.”
A moan came from her mouth. “A big, greasy hamburger, some fries, and a big ass soda.”
I laughed. “Easy enough to get. Give me a few minutes. I’m going to go pass it by the doctor. There’s a really good place down the road. It’ll do the trick.” Not only for her, but for both of us. I hadn’t eaten in close to thirty hours. Sure, I could have grabbed a snack on the plane, but that would have meant I had to leave Kaitlyn. Even now, I didn’t want to.
Distance. Right. I stood and she reached for me. Such a small gesture, but it didn’t go unnoticed by what I harbored. The possessiveness I felt clutched to her need for me like a druggy desperate for a fix.
My hand lifted as I stepped within her reach. The connection of our fingers laced in each other’s was right, on too many levels.
“Thank you. For everything. I’ll never forget this.” Her lips kissed the back of my hand, leaving my mind momentarily blank. So much gratitude. Sure, I’d gotten thank-you’s, smothered in tears. Even kissed on the cheek once by the mother of one of my girls. But in Kaitlyn’s eyes, there was something different. Almost intimate. A yearning tugged at some part of me that I couldn’t understand. Behind all that, there seemed to be an
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